Seoul: Ten government ministries and agencies held a joint task force meeting Thursday as part of a pan-government effort to prepare for the building of nuclear-powered submarines, the defense ministry said. The task force meeting on nuclear-powered submarines came as Seoul has recently won support from the United States to acquire the strategic assets amid persistent North Korean threats.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the task force encompasses the finance, foreign, science, industry and defense ministries, as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and three other agencies. Thursday's session shared views from each participating entity on a range of issues related to the building of nuclear-powered submarines.

The ministry said it plans to continue close cooperation with relevant agencies while seeking to establish the task force as a consistent and systematic pan-government consultative body to handle the case.